Yazoo County Mississippi Historical Markers

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Jack Owens became one of Mississippi's most venerated blues artists in the 1980s and ‘90s after spending most of his life as a farmer in Yazoo County. Born November 17, 1904, or 1906 according to some sources, Owens did not . . . — — Map (db m77275) HM

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The haunting quality of Nehemiah “Skip” James’s music earned him a reputation as one of the great early Mississippi bluesmen. James (1902-1969) grew up at the Woodbine Plantation and as a youth learned to play both . . . — — Map (db m77272) HM

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The Blue Front Café opened in 1948 under the ownership of Carey and Mary Holmes, an African American couple from Bentonia. In its heyday the Blue Front was famed for its buffalo fish, blues, and moonshine whiskey. One of the . . . — — Map (db m77274) HM

Built in 1900 and given to the Yazoo Library Association by Mrs. Ricks in memory of her husband, this example of Beaux Arts Classicism and continues to serve Yazoo City and County as a public library. — — Map (db m77225) HM

This bank was formed in 1876 by Yazoo County businessmen to aid in the recovery of the area's cotton planters after the Civil War. It is the oldest surviving financial institution in Yazoo County. — — Map (db m77224) HM

Organized in 1868, Bethel is the oldest African American congregation in Yazoo City. After affiliating with the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the congregation moved to this site in 1890. Designed by J.S. King, Bethel A.M.E. is one of the . . . — — Map (db m77232) HM

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Arnold Dwight “Gatemouth” Moore was one of America’s most popular blues singers in the 1940s before becoming a renowned religious leader, radio announcer, and gospel singer. He served as pastor of several churches in . . . — — Map (db m77260) HM

Established by the School Sisters of St. Francis of Milwaukee and Father Peter DeBoer, SVD, to minister to the African American children of Yazoo City, the school opened in September 1940 with 80 children enrolled. The high school held its first and . . . — — Map (db m77256) HM

This home was built in stages 1866-1910 by John and Mary Oakes, free blacks who had moved to Yazoo City by the 1850s, and by their first son, Augustus J. Oakes, an educator and builder, who had established the Oakes Lumber Yard by 1900. The Oakes . . . — — Map (db m77230) HM

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Tommy McClennan (c. 1905-1961) was one of America's most successful down-home blues recording artists during the period when he recorded 20 singles for the Bluebird label (1939-1942). Among McClennan's most notable numbers were . . . — — Map (db m77258) HM

Town Creek, one of Yazoo City's earliest residential areas, is located within the Town Center National Register Historic District, noted for the uniformly constructed buildings in the business district. — — Map (db m77242) HM

1861 — 1865
As at Thermopylae, the greater
glory was to the vanquished
———
This monument is erected to
perpetuate the memory of the
noble courage, constancy and
self sacrificing devotion of the
women of . . . — — Map (db m77476) WM